If you’re caught publicly selling dogs or cats in Idaho Falls and Ammon, you could be fined
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AMMON – The parking lot of Sportsman’s Warehouse in Ammon has been a popular place for dog and cat owners to sell animals in the past, but a new city ordinance now makes those sales illegal.
Ammon City ordinance 5-3-19 prohibits the sale of dogs and cats in public places.
“It shall be unlawful for any person to display, offer for sale, deliver, barter, auction, give away, transfer, sell or otherwise transfer ownership of any animal to another upon a street, sidewalk, public park, public right-of-way, or other public place,” the ordinance says.
The ordinance also prevents retailers from selling dogs or cats, but they can work with animal shelters or nonprofit animal rescues to host adoption events.
“Our pet stores work with local shelters to get dogs and cats (adopted into a good home),” Mayor Sean Coletti tells EastIdahoNews.com. “Our pet stores really aren’t affected by this ordinance.”
The ordinance does not apply to local animal shelter adoptions or the sale of dogs and cats on private property where they were bred and raised.
Though the ordinance was passed several months ago, Coletti says it wasn’t until last week that the city announced it.
Details about the ordinance were posted on the city’s Facebook page Monday morning.
Coletti says the intent of this ordinance is to address several public safety concerns and welfare concerns for the animals.
“What we were seeing is that it was a situation ripe for parvovirus,” says Coletti.
Parvovirus is a highly contagious and deadly virus that is spread by direct contact with other dogs, contaminated feces, environments, or people, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Unvaccinated dogs are the most susceptible to it.
When people display dogs or cats for sale publicly, the animals will often poop or pee in that spot. If the animal isn’t vaccinated, it puts them at risk of getting sick.
“It just isn’t good for the animals being sold,” Coletti explains. “The way this ordinance would encourage animal sales is going to a person’s house and seeing how the dog or cat has been taken care of instead of seeing them sitting in a cage at a location where (you have no idea) what the animal’s history is.”
Another reason for the ordinance, according to City Administrator Micah Austin, is to encourage professional and responsible breeding for pet owners.
The Ammon City Council passed the ordinance with a 5-1 vote.
Leading up to the ordinance being adopted, Austin says there were groups of people who came to city council meetings to express support for the measure. The city’s also received a lot of encouraging support since the ordinance was passed.
Similar ordinance in Idaho Falls
Ammon is one of 400 cities nationwide with similar ordinances. The city of Idaho Falls passed its own ordinance addressing this matter on Thursday, April 13. It’s nearly identical to Ammon’s ordinance.
During the city council meeting, Council President Michelle Ziel-Dingman — who also serves as the executive director of the Snake River Animal Shelter — said the passage of this ordinance is “really important” because of “overpopulation” of animals and the “potential spread of disease.”
“I could’ve brought all kinds of sad stories and photos. You see a lot in the shelter world that gives you a completely different perspective on this. The amount of animals we take into our facility — and I know every shelter in our area is facing the same thing — that were intentionally bred and could not be sold and were dropped off at shelters (is staggering),” Ziel-Dingman said.
The Idaho Falls Police Department is supportive of the measure because of the high number of calls they receive dealing with animal overpopulation.
Ziel-Dingman also pointed out that parvovirus can live on grass and in the soil for up to two years.
“When you put a bunch of animals together (that are) unvaccinated … it does kill animals. They take those diseases home, and they kill more animals. We see it all the time,” she said.
Carissa Hernandez, the special programs coordinator at the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter, agrees, saying not all breeders vaccinate their dogs and cats. She encourages pet owners to vaccinate their animals.
She hasn’t heard any negative pushback in conjunction with the new ordinance.
“The common goal is the well-being of the people and animals in our community. If making a decision like that will help us prevent certain disasters, it’s a pretty easy step to take and there’s definitely alternatives you can use if you are a breeder to put your dog in the spotlight,” says Hernandez.
One of the most reputable things a breeder can do, according to Hernandez, is put together a website showing the dam and the sire and invite people to see them prior to purchase.
The Idaho Falls ordinance passed unanimously.
Violations of the Idaho Falls or Ammon ordinance is a misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail.